I agree with Gary, there's no easy/cheap/legal solution to this problem. We have over 15,000 titles on VHS, many of which are still in high demand by our faculty and are not available on DVD. When a new classroom building opened last year without VCRs the faculty were very unhappy to discover that we couldn't simply reformat anything they wanted on VHS. So, now the classroom support folks are looking into installing VCRs in those classrooms, which will be kind of a pain now because they'll have to run an analog signal through a digital system. The moral of the story is, it might take complaints from faculty to redress the issue.
On the other hand, I'm intrigued by the notion of declaring VHS functionally obsolete because of inadequately equipped classrooms. Hmmm... Matt ______________________________ Matt Ball Media Services and Collections Librarian University of Virginia mattb...@virginia.edu 434-924-3812 On May 12, 2011, at 7:25 PM, "ghand...@library.berkeley.edu" <ghand...@library.berkeley.edu> wrote: > I feel your pain, Vicky! > > Unfortunately, even big bushels of money won't help, I'm afraid... > > Some of that money could be spent on re-purchasing titles that are > available in DVD. That's definitely a fairly easy thing to do. > > Beyond that... > > There are few, if any, blanket anythings in this business. > > Secondly: It may be that some of the older things in your collection are > grist for conversion under the provisions of Section 108 of the copyright > law. It will take some work and effort to determine these, but the work > might be worth it. > > For everything else, you'd have to hunt down the copyright holder and > negotiate. My experience has made it abundantly clear that this is a real > existential nightmare...in other words, it seldom results in happy or > productive results, simply because of the complexities and vagaries of > video production and distribution. > > If it were me (and it may well be eventually), I would not let go of this > battle (re yanking vhs players) until the last bloody stand... > > Gary Handman > > > > >> Oh help! Help, help, help! >> >> I have just attended a meeting at which it was mentioned in an off-handed >> remark that every VHS player in our campus classrooms will be removed over >> the summer. >> >> When I objected, and asked if there was any money being set aside to pay >> for the copyright permissions to convert our library's holdings, the VP of >> Finance said, "Why don't you give me a number." >> >> SO. >> >> Is there such a thing as a blanket license to convert commercially made >> VHS tapes to DVD for a non-profit institutional use? (Don't laugh at me, >> I just have to ask.) >> >> Does anyone have experience they can share with me - off list, if you >> prefer - in stopping/surviving this madness, or shall I just scavenge all >> the players I can find and store them in the library for the foreseeable >> future? >> >> >> I've searched the list archives, but the "digitizing - procedural >> question" thread, while helpful, doesn't say where to start securing >> permission or with whom, for a conversion. >> >> >> Thanks for your time and knowledge, >> Vicky >> >> >> VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of >> issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic >> control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in >> libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve >> as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of >> communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video >> producers and distributors. >> > > > Gary Handman > Director > Media Resources Center > Moffitt Library > UC Berkeley > > 510-643-8566 > ghand...@library.berkeley.edu > http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC > > "I have always preferred the reflection of life to life itself." > --Francois Truffaut > > > VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues > relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, > preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and > related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective > working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication > between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and > distributors. VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
